A home for a family of three. 

The existing single-storey semi-detached house was built in 1949, five years after the Japanese occupation, and is a relic of Singapore’s past when low-rise, low-density homes were commonplace. 

The design respects this heritage by optimizing the internal layout to avoid the need for any extensions beyond the existing building footprint. To that end, an existing single-loaded corridor was amalgamated to enlarge an existing bedroom, whilst new alcoves provide a much-needed privacy gradient between the bedrooms and main living areas. 

Another key objective was to reinforce the connection between house and garden, without necessitating new structural works to create large openings on the load-bearing masonry facade. Instead, a generously proportioned double-leaf pocket door between the study room and dry kitchen creates a never-before-seen vista of the garden from the main living area of the house. Window proportions have also been reshaped with lower sill heights to heighten a sense of threshold between indoors and outdoors. 

A new steel window adorns the gable wall fronting Ridout Road - an urban gesture that creates a point of interest marking the junction of Ridout and Swettenham Road.